Yes, your description was very accurate. I’m sure your memories of the Famous are probably better than mine. My grandfather died on my 8th birthday, but the Famous was a hugh part of our lives — it was the family business. I was very happy to read that it still held such wonderful memories for you. My grandfather loved it very much. Thank you for writing such a wonderful piece on it. It brought back a lot of memories for me.
The Famous Theater was built by my grandfather, Ferdinand Alsina. He originally operated a silent movie house, but built the larger motion picture theater over it, never shutting down during construction, The reason the screen was behind you as you entered from the lobby was a construction necessity in order to achieve that goal. It also had a crying room where mothers with crying babies could sit in a room facing the screen, behind a glass wall, and listen to the movie through earphones. One of the large framed posters in the lobby was actually a doorway to a stairway that led down to my grandfather’s office. I remember there was an intercom in there where you could hear what was being said in the restrooms. My grandfather said this was in case anyone needed assistance.
There were two exit doors that led to the back alley. During the depression, kids who couldn’t afford to go to the Saturday matinee would sneak in through those doors after the reels started. When my grandfather found out about it, he made sure the doors were left partially open in order to facilitate the “sneaking in.” The story goes that eventually there were more kids lined up in the alley than out front.
My family sold The Famous when my grandfather passed away in 1955.
Yes, your description was very accurate. I’m sure your memories of the Famous are probably better than mine. My grandfather died on my 8th birthday, but the Famous was a hugh part of our lives — it was the family business. I was very happy to read that it still held such wonderful memories for you. My grandfather loved it very much. Thank you for writing such a wonderful piece on it. It brought back a lot of memories for me.
The Famous Theater was built by my grandfather, Ferdinand Alsina. He originally operated a silent movie house, but built the larger motion picture theater over it, never shutting down during construction, The reason the screen was behind you as you entered from the lobby was a construction necessity in order to achieve that goal. It also had a crying room where mothers with crying babies could sit in a room facing the screen, behind a glass wall, and listen to the movie through earphones. One of the large framed posters in the lobby was actually a doorway to a stairway that led down to my grandfather’s office. I remember there was an intercom in there where you could hear what was being said in the restrooms. My grandfather said this was in case anyone needed assistance.
There were two exit doors that led to the back alley. During the depression, kids who couldn’t afford to go to the Saturday matinee would sneak in through those doors after the reels started. When my grandfather found out about it, he made sure the doors were left partially open in order to facilitate the “sneaking in.” The story goes that eventually there were more kids lined up in the alley than out front.
My family sold The Famous when my grandfather passed away in 1955.